PRACTICE – Olives – 15min

I’m not a big fan of olives. The historical and biblical references to the olive are more engaging to me than the food itself. I don’t like stinky cheese either. And what about pickle juice? I don’t drink it. But it’s the secret ingredient in my potato salad. I make it the Southern way: lots of mayo (in my case Miracle Whip), celery, eggs, pickles, salt, pepper, oregano, sage, and whatever other spices I grab from the rack. And then, that ½ cup (give or take a little) of sweet pickle juice.

I’ve noticed that sweet is a basic theme in Southern cooking. At least the Southern cooking I grew up on. I had barbecue ribs from Missouri last weekend at a writing retreat. They were delicious. But the one thing I noticed is that they weren’t as sweet as the tangy-sweet sauce I find on the ribs when I go Down South. And in the South, pork is the other white meat. Pork barbecue is a staple.

I wonder what it is about sweet and the South? Why are the foods and drinks laced with sugar? I’m a sugar fan, even though it’s not supposed to be that good for you. When I am eating healthier, I don’t consume as much sugar. But I always allow for it in my diet, lest I feel deprived. The sugar in sweet pickle juice is what makes potato salad sing.

I don’t like the raw onions in German potato salad. Or the way the taste is dull and lifeless to the palate. I like a little zing. One writer last weekend said she used to eat raw onions, just like eating an apple. I can’t stand them. They give me indigestion. I do like them cooked in spaghetti sauce, or any kind of red sauce. I don’t like mushrooms. Too rubbery. Maybe it’s texture that drives food likes and dislikes.

Back to olives. I have strayed. I only remember them edging our plates at Holiday meals like Thanksgiving and Christmas. They were not staples of our diet growing up. At the Holidays there was always a relish tray filled with celery, sweet pickles, deviled eggs (which I love and have on occasion added a bit of pickle juice to the filling), sliced carrots, pickled beets, and radishes. The variety added color and spice to the family feast.

I wish I could say I ate a lot of vegetables but they seem seasonal to me. I crave vegetables in the Spring and Summer. Fall I like baked squash. Winters, I go for hot and heavy stews.

We had a discussion last weekend about peanut butter. It came later in the night (when the silence was lifted), after we had done a 10 minute morning write on Everything I Know About Peanut Butter. I think I was the one that threw the Writing Topic into the bowl. We all scribbled down Topics on ripped strips of paper, folded them, and dropped them into the bowl. At the end of the retreat, we were reminiscing about all the Topics we didn’t get to write about.

Peanut butter, I like the Skippy Super Crunch, Lowfat, with lots of chunks of nuts. Others preferred health food peanut butter or only smooth. I was amazed at the different tastes people had when it came to peanut butter varieties. We used to have peanut butter and banana and mayo sandwiches as kids. I liked them. But my younger brothers liked them more. It seems like a strange combination. But try it sometime. The vinegar in the mayo mixes just right with the sweetness of banana. And then the peanut butter glues the whole thing together.

I don’t like any of the foods on the strange list in this Topic. No fake banana. No prune juice. No black licorice. No SPAM. People are shocked when I say I don’t like guacamole. It seems like everyone likes guacamole. What’s so special about the meat of a dense, lime green, tasteless tropical fruit like the pear-shaped avocado, mashed up into a dip with raw onions? The texture and taste do not appeal to my sensibilities. I’m never going to get it.

8 Responses

Qouinmonkey – what you wrote here underscores just how much our food preferences are set in the available array of family meals throughout our childhoods.
You’re on to something with food texture having much to do with like or dislike of foods.
About the only thing I’ve never developed taste for is mussels, oysters and abalone. Yick, bleck!!!
While courting me, Yumpole dragged me to a fine French Restaurant and ordered snails in garlic. Being a rather unsophisticated girl, but desiring to fake being a gourmand ( big mistake!) I dug in and clumsily picked up a snail shell in the tong and promptly fired it across the restaurant and hit the wine steward serving wine to another couple in the crotch. Oops! Surprise? Rumpole took away my tongs and hand fed me the snails to prevent further barrage by snail artillery in that fine establishment. The snails were okay, but a bit garlicky. At home I read how to prepare snails in the Joy of cooking, and after the description vowed that snails were not to be ever on my menu at home.
G

Oh QM, sounds like you’ve not had the chance to taste a properly ripened avocado… they’re full of flavour! I had one a few days ago that just melted in my mouth with a greenly-buttery sweetness that was quite irresistible. Avocadoes this ripe and tasty are harder to get outside the tropics, which is sad – so I’m devouring them while I have the chance!

Now if you mix that sort of avocado with really ripe, tangy tomatoes, a little chilli and some fresh lime juice (I can’t stand raw onions either) you have a guacamole worth living for! But as with most things, it’s best if you make your own – shop bought ones can be quite as grim as your description!

Mmmm…. all this talking and writing about food is making me hungry! Will be posting my Olive WP soon…

G., that’s a hilarious story about the flying snail. I can just picture it (because it’s something I might have done, too!). But then when Rumpole took away your tongs and hand fed you the snails — that sounds really romantic and sensual for the courtship phase of dating. I’m thinking the flying snail might have been a great aphrodisiac in disguise. 8)

BTW, I’ve never had abalone, only used the shells to burn sage in or in pieces of handmade jewelry. I can guess what they taste like but don’t know first hand. Anything slimy (there’s that texture again) is hard for me to stomach.

lirone, the way you describe avocadoes makes me want to (almost) try them again. I do think it’s the texture — but maybe if I had a Tropical fresh-picked one, right off the tree (as it sounds like you are doing), I might change my mind.

I did develop a taste for figs at a young age because my mother used to pick them fresh off the fig tree in my Aunt Cassie’s backyard. Hmmm. I’m eating a Fig Newton right now. Not the same, I know, but I do love figs and fig preserves. So maybe there’s hope for me and the avocado.

lirone, me, too! I just got home and I’m hungry, getting ready to cook supper. I bet an avocado would go well in a little green side salad. Tonight, I think it’s hamburgers, lean, and Bush’s Vegetarian Beans. Quick and dirty.

We went to Byerly’s (a local grocery store) last night and they were having a buy one/get one free sale on many items we regularly eat, including lean hambuger. I guess they only have the sale about once a year. We saved $64 on our regular bill. Fruits and vegetables are expensive these days!

I’m an avocado lover, too. And one of my favorite quick appetizers is guacamole. Yikes, QM, I didn’t serve you that when you were here last summer, did I? It would have been something, had I had all the ingredients, that I might have whipped up.